Occult and Paranormal

Occult and paranormal books may be enjoying popularity in the modern world, but the ideas they contain are not new. Many scholars have put pen to page to elucidate the mysteries of the unknown. Most societies of the world have occult or paranormal books and ideas that have entered into their cultural lexicon. A paranormal phenomenon is an event that is unexplainable by known scientific facts, while the occult usually refers to the practice of interpreting and foretelling the future with, among other media, astrology, palmistry, and Tarot card reading.

One of the earliest occult and paranormal books was written by King James VI of Scotland in 1597. James's forays into the occult began when he viewed some witch trials and came to believe that witches had actually cast spells against him. Daemonologie was the result of his extensive investigations into witchcraft and the unknown. Vintage occult and paranormal books include The Magus, which was written by Francis Barett in 1801; this influential book contained a very broad range of occult practices that encompassed the use of herbs and symbols, ideas about the fall of man, and the conjuring of spirits. Get chills with a modern paranormal text such as The Demonologist by Gerald Brittle, which chronicles the careers of real-life exorcists Ed and Loraine Warren.

Books describing the history of the occult and paranormal events are must-haves for any collection centered around those topics. Professor Owen Davies' Grimoires: A History of Magic Books explores the background and allure of magical books throughout the ages. Kurt Selegmann traces the origins of magic far into the mists of time to the Mesopotamians in his History of Magic and the Occult. Buy occult and paranormal books to round out your collection or gain insights into how ancient beliefs have been incorporated into modern life.